Hollywood Feuds: Actors vs. Directors

Tippi Hedren vs. Alfred Hitchcock

Nothing causes an on-set feud faster than unrequited love. Alfred Hithcock plucked Tippi Hedren out of obscurity and made her a star in "The Birds," but his obsession with her caused the eventual demise of her Hollywood career. Hendren told The Times that Hitchcock threatened to ruin her career after she rejected his affections. “And he did,” Hedren said. “He kept me under contract – $600 a week. I didn’t make any movies. I was, as you’d say back then, 'hot' and later found out how many directors and producers wanted me. It was very frustrating." - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photo: Keystone Archive/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

More from this Slideshow

Battling It Out,...What happens when you put big-time actors in the same room as extremely artistic directors? Volatile fights, foolish pranks and major diva behavior. Check out some of the biggest battles between Hollywood actors and the directors that challenged them. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Dave Hogan, Larry Busacca, Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Bruce Willis vs....Director Kevin Smith, who worked with actor Bruce Willis on the 2009 film "Cop Out," has not been shy about his hate for the actor. "Who am I talking about in THIS passage from my new book (which drops on TUES)... 'He turned out to be the unhappiest, most bitter and meanest emo-[expletive] I ever met at any job I've held. And mind you, I worked at Domino's,'" Smith Tweeted, later revealing the answer to be Willis.

Smith previously bashed the actor during an interview with comedian Marc Maron. "It was difficult. I’ve never been involved in a situation like that where one component is not in the box at all. It was [expletive] soul crushing," he revealed. "I had no [expletive] help from this dude whatsoever." - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Jemal Countess, Donna Ward/Getty Images)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Bryan Cranston v..."Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston recently spoke out on his disappointment in working with director Tony Kaye on the film "Detatchment." The actor felt Kaye did not honor writer Carl Lund’s script and was unhappy with the outcome. "I was upset with that. I really was. And so I didn't see the movie," Cranston revealed to a reporter from HitFix. "Tony Kaye is a very complicated... interesting fellow," Cranston added. "I don't believe that I'll be working with him again.” - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images, Evan Agostini/AP)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Edward Norton vs...Cranston isn’t the only actor who has had problems with Tony Kaye. Edward Norton famously sparred with the director during the filming of “American History X” after Kaye attempted to cut the 200-hour shoot down to 87 minutes.

Norton stepped in as editor and Kay removed his name from the movie, telling Entertainment Weekly that the actor was “a narcissistic dilettante” who “raped” the film. Norton responded to Kaye’s rant, "If Tony Kaye hadn't wanted to make the movie with me, the studio wouldn't have made the movie with Tony Kaye." We guess these two won’t be working together again in the near future. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Jason Kempin, Francois Durand/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Shelley Duvall v...Shelley Duvall’s role as Wendy Torrance in “The Shining” is certainly her most memorable, but it is also the part that nearly drove the actress over the edge. Director Stanley Kubrick, who is known for his excruciating attention to detail, reportedly nit-picked every single move Duvall made.

Remember the scene where she hits Jack Nicholson’s character with a bat? Kubrick made her do it 127 times, a feat that is rumored to have broken the record for "most retakes of a single movie scene with spoken dialogue." The stress of the movie and its ever-changing script even took a physical toll on Duvall, who lost some of her hair and became violently ill during filming. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Levy, AP/Getty Images)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Megan Fox vs. Mi...Megan Fox didn’t waste a chance to bash director Michael Bay, despite the fact that he gave the actress her first major role in "Transformers." Fox told Wonderland magazine, "He's like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation. He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he's a nightmare to work for but when you get him away from set, and he's not in director mode, I kind of really enjoy his personality because he's so awkward, so hopelessly awkward."

Bay didn’t go down without a fight and quickly fired Fox from the franchise at the request of Steve Spielberg. When asked by GQ magazine if losing the actress was a big deal, Bay responded, "It was a small speed bump. This movie is way bigger than the leading lady." Ouch. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Bjork vs. Lars v...Neither Lars von Trier nor Bjork seem like the most stable people, so it isn’t a huge surprise that these two eccentric artists clashed. The two joined forces in 2000 to film "Dancer in the Dark." The shoot quickly turned into a war zone. After weeks of small spats, the tensions between the two finally came to a head.

Trier told GQ, "I met Björk one day and instead of saying hello she spat on the ground." Trier was surprised hours later when the singer asked if she could compose a song in his honor. He added, "It was so absurd, because of the violent hostility that we had been through. It was so completely crazy." Bjork addressed the fight on her blog, saying, "[Trier] needs a female to provide his work soul. And he envies them and hates them for it. So he has to destroy them during the filming. And hide the evidence." - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photo: Lionel Cironneau/AP)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Kim Basinger vs....Director Adrian Lyne reportedly tortured actress Kim Basinger during the 1986 filming of "9 ½ Weeks." Lyne attempted to unnerve Basinger by banning all off-set cast communication, spreading rumors about Kim to the other actors and leading her to believe that she was disliked on set. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Faye Dunaway vs....Things got really ugly between actress Faye Dunaway and director Roman Polanski on the set of “Chinatown.” The pair reportedly fought constantly during the 1974 shoot, which culminated in Dunaway throwing a cup of urine in Polanski’s face after he refused to let her use the bathroom during filming. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Pascal Le Segretain, Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Jake Gyllenhaal ...Throwing an Academy Award-nominated actor in a room with an Academy Award-nominated director doesn’t always result in movie gold. Just ask Jake Gyllenhaal and David Fincher. The pair duked it out during the 2007 filming of "Zodiac" over the number of takes Fincher required per scene.

"David knows what he wants, and he's very clear about what he wants, and he's very, very, very smart. But sometimes we'd do a lot of takes, and he'd turn, and he would say, because he had a computer there, 'Delete the last 10 takes.' And as an actor that's very hard to hear," Gyllenhaal told the NY times. Fincher shot back at Jake’s remarks, stating "When you go to your job, is it supposed to be fun, or are you supposed to get stuff done?" Fincher later conceded, admitting that he had been a little too hard on the actor during filming. Both guys skipped out on the film’s premiere. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

George Clooney v...George Clooney got into a physical shoving match with director David O. Russell during a shoot for 1999’s “Three Kings.” Clooney was upset over Russell’s treatment of the film crew and decided to take a stand. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photo: Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Lily Tomlin vs. ...Lily Tomlin and George Clooney should go out to lunch because it seems they have a common enemy in David O. Russell. Clips of the director chewing Tomlin out on the set of "I Heart Huckabees" and throwing props during a raging fight made their way onto the Internet shortly after the film was released. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Katherine Heigl ...A feud between Katherine Heigl and Judd Apatow started after the cameras wrapped on “Knocked Up.” Heigl told Vanity Fair that she had a hard time loving the movie because it “paints the women as shrews,” a comment that director Judd Apatow did not take lightly.

Co-star Seth Rogan came to Apatow’s defense during a Howard Stern show interview, saying, “I gotta say it’s not like we’re the only people she said some bat-[expletive] crazy things about. That’s kind of her bag now.” - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Kevin Winter, Michael Buckner/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Tippi Hedren vs....Nothing causes an on-set feud faster than unrequited love. Alfred Hithcock plucked Tippi Hedren out of obscurity and made her a star in "The Birds," but his obsession with her caused the eventual demise of her Hollywood career. Hendren told The Times that Hitchcock threatened to ruin her career after she rejected his affections. “And he did,” Hedren said. “He kept me under contract – $600 a week. I didn’t make any movies. I was, as you’d say back then, 'hot' and later found out how many directors and producers wanted me. It was very frustrating." - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photo: Keystone Archive/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Rip Torn vs. Nor...During the filming of "Maidstone" in 1970, actor Rip Torn became outraged by the direction Norman Mailer wanted to take the movie. Torn decided the best course of action would be to whack Mailer in the head with a hammer. Mailer launched himself at Torn, biting the actor in the ear and pulling him to the ground in a wrestling match. The fight, which was caught on tape and featured in the film, was eventually broken up by cast members. - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Sean Gallup, Charley Gallay/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Ewan McGregor vs...Ewan McGregor has beef with director Danny Boyle... and for good reason. The two collaborated on the 1996 movie "Trainspotting," forming a close friendship and professional bond. Boyle promised McGregor the lead in an upcoming project called “The Beach,” but decided at the last minute to go with Leonardo DiCaprio.

McGregor spoke with Britain’s The Time magazine about the incident, saying, “You just don't treat your friends like that. They absolutely made me think that I was playing the character in 'The Beach' and we talked about dates and moving dates and so on, and all the while they were keeping me there just in case Leonardo pulled out - which is really nasty,” the actor revealed. “And then afterwards, I just didn't hear from Danny for years. When he told me, he was very conflicted and he was very upset, and I spent a lot of time making him feel better and saying, 'No, it's alright, I understand'. And when I went home, I thought [expletive]! That doesn't feel very nice.' And my wife was furious.” - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Alberto E. Rodriguez, Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Marlon Brando vs...Everything seemed to be going fine between Marlon Brando and director Frank Oz during the 2001 shoot for “The Score,” but that all changed after Oz requested that Brando tone down his flamboyant performance. Brando became infuriated, cursing loudly and referring to Oz only as “Miss Piggy.” Brando, who refused to wear pants during the shoot so he couldn’t be filmed from the waist down, reportedly brought a doctor’s note saying he was allergic to Oz.

The fight got so bad that Brando would only listen to co-star Robert DeNiro’s directions, which made filming extremely tense. Oz has only spoken on the subject once, saying, "When you deal with someone like Marlon, you expect quirkiness." - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Brenda Chase, Peter Kramer/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Val Kilmer vs. J...Things got physical between director Joel Schumacher and actor Val Kilmer on the set of 1995's “Batman Forever” after Kilmer was caught talking down to a crew member. “He was being irrational and ballistic with the first assistant director, the cameraman, the costume people," Schumacher told Entertainment Weekly. "He was rude and inappropriate. He was childish and impossible. I was forced to tell him that this would not be tolerated for one more second. Then we had two weeks where he did not speak to me but it was bliss!" - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Jason Merritt, Elisabetta Villa/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

Gary Oldman vs. ...Gary Oldman went public with his disappointment over how the film “The Contender” turned out, a problem he blamed largely on director Rob Lurie. Lurie shot back, claiming Oldman had over-identified with his character and was suffering from “Stockholm syndrome.”

The actor was offended by Lurie's comment and responded with a long interview in Venice Magazine bashing the film. “If he were to get in the ring with me and go toe-to-toe on acting, who do you think knows more?" Oldman said - Xfinity Entertainment Programmers(Photos: Dave Hogan, Jason Merritt/Getty Images) The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.